Slavonice is a small town located in the south of Czech Republic, close to the Austrian border. The town is famous for its triangular market, with amazing tenement houses dating back to the 14th-16th centuries. Their uniqueness is emphasized by beautiful facades decorated with the use of Sgraffito technique. This way of decorating walls had been known as early as in the ancient times, however, it was made popular in the years of the Renaissance. It is produced by applying layers of plaster tinted in contrasting colors to a moistened surface and then scratching so as to produce an outline drawing. The surfaces received in that way are two- or multi-colored. The Slavonice facades belong to the oldest ones in the Czech Republic, older Sgraffito decorations can be found only in Prague.
